The Bench

Well...four months later...I'm finally done with my bench. It really didn't take me very long at all to do it. I was just procrastinating a little too much. I stole this idea from my wonderful friend Heather last summer, and I'm just now accomplishing it myself.

It all started in September. I was driving home one Friday afternoon when I remembered that Shannon (my home town) was having their garage sales that day. I decided I'd take a quick drive through town. (Remember...population 801...it literally takes me 10 minutes to drive up and down EVERY street in our town.) I didn't see any garage sales that looked appealing, and I was ready to go home, but then...

I saw them. 

Three grungy, beat-up, antique chairs were sitting in someone's yard. I immediately knew what I could do with them. I got out of my car, went straight to the gentleman selling them, and asked "how much do you want for the chairs?". He said "$5". I said "sold". It was love at first sight.

Of course, my husband thought I was crazy when he first saw them, but I knew they had potential. I immediately sent a text message to Heather showing her my garage sale find.

Now...four months later...I started working on them. And it was a very quick and easy project. I lightly sanded down the chairs, put a coat of primer spray paint on them, spray painted them, and then added the seat for the bench. Aaron helped me put the chairs together. (Thanks, Sweetie!!) We used an old piece of plywood we had in the garage to make a long seat, and I happen to have an old memory foam mattress pad in a closet upstairs. I cut up the mattress pad, stapled the fabric around it onto the plywood seat, and Voilà!!

This awkward space by my staircase is now filled, and I'm extremely excited about it!

I just added a little accent pillow last night to complete the look, and this is one craft project I'm very excited to cross off my list!!

Random Thoughts from Christmas and New Years

1. I always forget how sweet it is to be in a room filled with other believers singing "Silent Night" and shining candles in the dark. It's just too bad this only happens once a year.
2. Five Christmases (plus a baby shower) in three days makes for some very exhausted and cranky people...need I say more.
3. We are so blessed by family and friends, and not just because we received Christmas gifts from many of them. I don't know how anyone could ask for a bigger blessing in their lives than our family and friends. They simply are amazing. 
4. It was a joint effort at giving Christmas gifts this year. Aaron & I both stayed up late...painting, sanding, cutting, etc....as we prepared homemade gifts for a majority of our family this year. We decided it would be more meaningful if we gave homemade gifts. Great idea...except we figured out that even though we may work better under pressure, we still bicker at each other in the pressure. Needless to say...if we do homemade gifts again next year, we will be starting them 6 months in advance. 
5. Despite our bickering under the pressure of the holidays...we still love each other. He thinks I'm pretty cool (at least that's what he says), and I still think he's amazing. Well...maybe if there were a real Edward Cullen in the world, I might change my mind on that, but for now I'll stick to humans. (Just kidding, Aaron...you know I love you.)
6. I determined that I love new years resolutions. They're just awesome! Who wouldn't love being able to come up with ways to better themselves in any area of their lives and set goals to achieve them? Seriously...I love whoever came up with this idea! Sadly...I set several new years resolutions, and I'm already having a hard time sticking to them. But I'm sure there's supposed to be at least a week grace period in there, so I'm still okay, right? I WILL succeed in my resolutions. I promise.
7. We have the best small group ever! Our small group is going through a study of Crazy Love by Francis Chan, and God is doing some amazing things in each of our lives through the study. We recommend everyone to go through the book. The book is amazing. Our small group is amazing. And our God is pretty amazing too.
8. I've felt like I haven't had that much to blog about lately because it's pretty much the same old routine around here every week. For a while I thought that was pretty boring, but I came to the realization that as much as I hate to admit it...we are boring...and that's absolutely fine with me. I like boring. We're pretty simple people. What you see is what you get. 
9. The Lord has taught me A LOT over the past year, and I know I want Him teach me even more about how to be a better wife, daughter, sister, friend, co-worker, and woman in this next year.
10. I've determined 2012 is going to be a great year.